Compared to... Fujifilm FinePix F10 Zoom

Below you will find a studio comparison between the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 and the six megapixel Fujifilm FinePix F10 Zoom. As the LX1's additional megapixels are in the horizontal axis only we took these shots of our test rig using 4:3 mode, which also gives a 6MP image. We have included samples for the LX1's lowest and highest ISO settings (80 and 400). The F10 Zoom also has full-resolution ISO 800 and 1600 modes - to see these results please visit the corresponding pages in the F10 review.

As we might expect from a Leica-branded lens the edge-to-edge detail and sharpness is excellent, and the colors, though a touch over-vivid, are very accurate. The default settings are possibly a little too contrasty and a little over-sharpened for our liking, but you can turn contrast, sharpening and saturation down in-camera. Of course you can also shoot in raw mode and convert using Adobe Camera Raw 3.2 for a finer degree of control over image processing.

On the downside, even at ISO 80 noise is visible in dark areas - particularly areas of deep, flat blue. It's not a major issue unless you intend to produce poster-sized prints, but it's disappointing given the obvious quality of the optics.